Dep Gov withdraws suit against Gov Obaseki, others

IN A development that gives a dramatic twist to the ongoing rumbles in the relationship between the Deputy Governor of Edo state, Philip Shaibu, and  his principal, Gov. Godwin Obaseki, the earlier, this morning (Tuesday, September 5) withdrew the suit he filed against the latter.

Deputy Gov. Mr. Shaibu, quit the case in which he approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, to seek protection from impeachment by Edo State's House of Assembly.

The deputy governor also got the court's order of interlocutory injunction, restraining the Inspector General of Police, State Security Service, the Governor of Edo State, Speaker of Edo State's House of Assembly and the Chief Judge of Edo State or their agents from harassing, intimidating, embarrassing or preventing him from carrying out the duties of his office, including attending State Executive Council meetings and other functions pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Comrade Shaibu asked the court to restrain the Governor, the Speaker of the State Assembly, and the Chief Judge from “initiating impeachment proceedings or sanctioning any impeachment” against him.

The case, which many appraised as a  culmination of a long-simmering political disquiet between the governor and his deputy ahead the state's 2024 gubernatorial election stirred tension in the state which led to the intervention of party leaders and statesmen in Edo.

Announcement of Shaibu's withdrawal of the suit therefore calmed frayed nerves.

In a circular dated September 5, 2023, Shuaibu who had been Obaseki's deputy since he came to power in 2016 as All Progressives Congress (APC) and moved with him to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2020 to win a second term, stated that the decision to withdraw the suit came after a series of meetings involving himself, Obaseki, and well-meaning citizens of Edo and Nigerians, including party leaders, traditional rulers, and the Catholic Church's Archbishop of Benin Archdiocese.